Talk:BreakTheInternet/@comment-30522539-20161116213603/@comment-3575890-20161117023123
First of all, hello. It's nice to meet you, long time lurker. Forgive me for my skepticism. We've had such an ongoing troll problem for so long, that it's hard to not be distrustful of any/all newcomers when they first come into the wood work. There truly is no way of knowing if you are genuinely concerned for this community or not, but for the sake of things, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. For starters, I am sorry that as a long time lurker, your first post here is such a depressing one. Honestly, believe it or not, on some level, I do understand where you are trying to come from. Thank you for your kind words about our community - or rather, what you percieved it to once be. However, whatever you've witnessed in the past of this community you've only ever glimpsed on a surface level. There is no way that you can accurately gauge the nature of our community and its members then, let alone as it is now, from an outsider's perspective. I'm sorry, but there is so little of the larger picture that you have actually beared witness to. If you knew the full extent of the history of this community, you would understand why this wiki has shifted into a place more negative and filled with skepticism and disillusionment over time. "You see, this place used to be an amazing community. It was so welcoming, so alive, it was something so different from anything else you saw, it was a home, for people that struggled living in the real world, it was a place for them to find solace, to find a calm, to find peace." It's still all this and more. True, the mass dynamic has changed. The atmosphere has shifted. But you know what remains the same? The people and the friendships. We all still love the hell out of each other and would give our shirts off our backs for a fellow wikian. I know we would. No matter how much damage has been done in retrospect, no matter how many fights have broken out and rifts have formed, we are all still very close friends. And this wiki, is still very much a safe haven for us all to use to seek out support AND support each other. You have no idea the magnitude of which I love each and every person here. These people I have not only been friends with for years on end, but I have GROWN with. Some I have witnessed grow from teenagers just on the cusp of adulthood to fully grown adults and let me tell you something, my friend, each and every person here is wonderful in ways you've never imagined. Try actually assimilating with our community before passing judgment based on only what you partially see of the whole picture. You will learn very quickly what it means to have the epitome of a perfect friend in each and every person here. From the bottom of my heart, I love and will always love these people. So good intentions or not from you, I will defend them with my life. "This place was thriving, so many users, all with their own unique point of view, which was celebrated. Even at some of the bitterest fights, there was still a fun atmosphere here. I would laugh reading all the comments, enjoy everyone's stories while you live chatted Game of Thrones, Shameless or even anime. You prided yourselves on being a place that didn't follow the norm, that was a wiki where you discussed everything except the show the wiki was about." I admit that the wiki has changed. We admittedly have become more disillusioned, more distrustful, and more negative in general, but my friend, if you only KNEW an iota of what has gone down behind the scenes in this community, you'd have a greater insight into why this has occurred. We are less trusting because we have been given ample reasons time and time again to NOT trust newcomers. It is not that I automatically do not trust you. I entertain the possibility that you just might actually care about this community and are trying to help, albeit your approach is misguided. However, we have gotten to a point of which trust must be earned and is not automatically given at the gate. I am sorry that is not the case anymore. Trust me when I say we have our reasons and I hope you can respect that. Now regarding Trump, this is where you have completely lost me, my friend. I'll keep this short and simple. Anybody who votes against somebody else's rights is somebody I cannot in good conscience respect. Sorry. That's just not how it works. I understand that not everybody that voted for Trump did so with the intent to further lend to the further oppression of marginalised minorities, but clearly whatever reason they had for casting their vote, they considered it more important than these people's basic fundamental rights, and that in of itself is just as problematic as being openly bigoted and hateful. I understand that you have decided against joining our community because of the negative turn it has taken over time. I will not deny that there is underlying tension and animosity that remains among some users. This wiki isn't what it used to be. I will admit that. However, if you truly wish to be a part of this community, I welcome you with open arms and will not change my stance until you give me a reason to withdraw it. By all means, I hope you do choose to join us so that you can understand what it means to be a part of a community that still is every bit as wonderful, open, accepting, and caring as you initially thought this one to be formerly. You do not know these people like I do. You have only ever glimpsed the surface of things, that which leaves room for a lot of misconstruing of intentions and feelings, and general miscommunication. Put forth the effort to befriend this community, don't just observe it through the looking glass, and see if your view of it changes then. If you treat it well, it will give back in ten-fold. I promise you that. I reiterate once more; these people are the most wonderful people I have ever had the fortune to know. So many of them cannot even begin to fathom all they have done for me, all they have helped me through in the darkest of times. They are the best friends anyone could ever ask for. You would know that if you put aside your judgment and actually made the effort to talk to them instead of pass judgments and cast aspersions from afar.